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Treatment options for rapid-cycling bipolar affective disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

David Taylor  and
Denise Duncan
Denise Duncan
Affiliation:
The Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AZ
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Rapid cycling (RC) occurs in up to 20% of patients with bipolar affective disorder and is particularly common in women. It is generally defined as a condition where four or more episodes of (hypo-) mania or depression occur in any year. Frequently, patients with RC switch rapidly between episodes without passing through a euthymic stage. RC is notoriously difficult to treat and the refractoriness of the condition has led to a number of drugs and combinations being put forward as potential therapeutic interventions. This article reviews current treatments and suggests a treatment strategy based on available evidence of efficacy and tolerability.

Type
Drug Information Quarterly
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 20 , Issue 10 , October 1996 , pp. 601 - 603
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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